To Hold Ourselves

slowly), and have been deeply impacted by its message. Epstein, drawing on the Buddhist teachings on mindfulness, gently suggests that our suffering (which we so urgently strive to avoid), is in actual fact the very

gateway

into our liberation from suffering.

After all, it takes willingness to settle the narrative mind, to surrender and slowly sink into the depths of our feelings. Within the realm of feelings also lie our deepest discomforts, which we will inevitably have to examine and feel through the vehicle of our bodies (if we are interested in the cessation of suffering of course).

Yes,

feel

. So much happens when we grant ourselves permission to feel, to breathe into our bodies and embrace our moment-to-moment human condition as it continuously changes in unforeseeable ways.

Epstein compares mindfulness to a 'holding environment’, in which all phenomena and experiences are allowed to

be

. All sensations, thoughts and feelings are invited into our conscious awareness. He uses the analogy of an attuned mother, lovingly holding her infant in a warm embrace, regardless of what it is experiencing.

The notion of 'holding oneself' inspired me to record a meditation which I would like to share with you.